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Why do people take tours?

and then ask questions about lodging, etc. It makes no difference, you're locked in. In this day of Fodor's site, Frommer's site, faxing for reservations, guide books aplenty, why pay someone for something you can do yourself? Half the fun is in the planning, send off to tourist bureaus, every country has one.

Bawk, bawk, bawk.......see them chickens running all together? Don't want intermingle with the local riff raff.
Want those Holiday Inn style places. Love to eat 3 square meals a day (yeah....here ya are in Paris spending 2 hours evrery day eating dull tasteless meals inside some cafeteria type restaurant that no one goes to unless they are on one of those damn cattle car BUS tours. Ha!)
Safety in numbers. Go to Asia and meet folks from Kansas and talk about the Green Bay Packers. Getting up at 5 am everyday to ride a bus throughout Europe with 15 minute photo stops. Watch them chickens run!

I agree with you! 1/2 the fun is doing the research, the reading, and meeting people on the internet with the same interests. I don't have a lot of hobbies, buttraveling is my biggest hobby, so I always enjoy the research! I can't imagine taking a tour bus or staying at a well known American hotel with lots of other Americans. I'd rather wander the streets of Paris or Barcelona (Venice in 2 months) and discover things on my own. People on tour busses miss this unique experience! People on tour busses miss meeting the locals. Oh well, their loss. Ciao!

Some of us take tours because we are still carrying around almost a pound of North Korean steel embedded in our legs...all these 45 years. Some of us are confined to wheelchairs. Some of us like people from Kansas. Some of us are too worn out supporting a family, sending kids off to college, and keeping house. Some of us don't like to lug luggage. Some of us like somebody else to cook our meals after taking care of kids all these years. Some of us don't like the biker crowd but are too polite to tell them to shave, shower, and put on clean clothes. Some of us are still proud to be middle-class, middle-income, and middle-aged.

To continue on where Arizona left off, some of us take tours to ensure safe and less expensive hotels, to help us circumvent the language barriers, to help us get discounts to attractions, to provide answers to our travel questions, to help us get our flights rescheduled when airlines go on strike, to help us get used to foreign travel.
And I like people from Kansas, too, although on tours I have met many locals ( you must know that we don't spend all of our time on tour buses.) And tour groups are usually a diverse group. I have met Japanese, Chinese, Australians, New Zealandners, Canadians, Israelis, Indians, Germans, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans, Peruvians, Mexicans, Spaniards and probably those from countries that I can't even remember. Be open minded. Do your own thing, but allow others the same privilege without being critical.

I agree with the last two posts. I go away every two years, sometimes taking tours, sometimes travelling by train. It often depends on where I'm going. Don't think everybody drives - I don't and some of us travel to relax as well as see the sights. Also, not all tours are the same. Many give free time for meals, often free days. Some first timers that are travelling solo take tours to orientate themselves and find out what they like. To each his/her own - it's your trip - you do what YOU want.

I booked a tour to Italy, as an incentive and reward for me to take the CPA exam, in May. I no longer dread, but really look forward to the month of May. I have traveled all over Europe independently by car, but this time, I did not have the time, nor did not want to worry about my trip, while I am focusing on passing the CPA. This is my first time to Italy, as well as going on a tour, and I am appreciative of the fact that a convenient, well-thought out tour is available for me. Yes, part of the fun of taking a trip is the planning process. However, this takes tremendous amont of effort and time, which one may not have. (I have also found that the tour is more economical than traveling independently. I guess the big tour companies can get big discounts that individuals can not get.) After I'm done with my exam, I will hop on the plane, sit back, and enjoy Italy!

When I was a not so callow not so youth I travelled independantly around Turkey and enjoyed it immensely. I had no choice, at the time most British travel agents needed to get out an atlas to find where Turkey was and I wanted to go see Turkey. I don't drive so I did the local buses, I never found the one with the goat and the dancing bear on board but I came pretty close. I stayed in rooms that had just three iron bedsteads, the communal bathroom was a basin next door and the loo a smelly hole in the ground downstairs. It was fun. Nowadays I have other things to occupy my time so I let the likes of Cosmos organise the tedious bits like flights accomodation and transport, if you like these aspects then fine but I don't think getting there is half the fun. Just because I take a tour doesn't mean I don't do my homework, I go to many of the places I visit because I've been inspired by a book, a documentary or a film. When I get to a site (I like tours with plenty of ruins) I usually have some idea what to expect and I like to think that if all went wrong I could still get back to civilisation on my own. People I meet on tours are sometimes amazed that I'm philosophical about some of the grottier hotels Cosmos sometimes uses, my smugness hides the thought that I never stayed anywhere nearly that nice when I travelled independantly. I've never knowingly met anyone from Kansas

Sue: I read your message about taking a tour to Italy in May, and I would like to know what tour company you are going with. We are doing that trip in June, 99, and we are studying all of the brochures now. Any info greatly appreciated!
Thanks Kathy

I too was named after a great AMERICAN state like the twins Kentucky and Arizona above. And I fought and died for my country. My wife has suffered through 45 years of raising our 9 young ones and I think she deserves the right to spend my hard earned greenbacks from my coal mining job to sit on an icy air conditioned bus with a lots of other fellas just like us proud salt of the earth types, and watch the continent of Europe sweep by the bus windows.
Why inconvenience ourselves by having to actually DO anything? Besides like typical AMERICAN folks we heft
a few extra hundred pounds, so it's hard to haul these huge asses independently thoughout that smelly place full of damn foreigners who don't have the brains to speak English to us. And they use funny money too....come in color and all. Confusing, confusing...I'm not going to mess with that stupid stuff. They are lucky we are even coming over there and spending our hard earned AMERICAN cash on their falling down old countries.

Not to be rude about it, but I don't understand the appeal of these big bus tours either. Nowadays there is so much help one can receive from travel agents, friends, guidebooks, the Web etc that I don't see why people do not think they can manage on their own (and see a lot more of the countries they are visiting to boot). That's even more true now, as most countrries have sort of adopted English as a commonly spoken second language. It used to be that not speaking other languages was a hindrance to a person's travels, but that is no longer true.

I also believe that traveling independently and doing the research is wonderful, but there are times when tours are a great life-saver. I plan to travel to Europe with my mother-in-law who is 81 and my sister-in-law who is 32 but has the mental age of a 12 year old (i am not being funny, she is that mental age). My mother in law wants to see Europe before she dies. She is in excellent health and very lively, but I can not imagine my husband. two girls, another teenage boy and myself doing anything but a tour. I plan to have a great time and enjoy the locals and my traveling companions. I have one question for those of you that don't understand or get angry when people don't speak English in Europe. How many languages do you know? I always try to learn some key words in the language of where we are heading. Things like good-morning, good-night, thank you and sorry. I have always found people took their time trying to understand and communicate when you were polite.

I think people have a problem with tours used by those who could otherwise travel without them. It is the experienced traveler's duty to help those people (who can) make the leap to flying solo. I know that at one time All Fifty States were truckin' along like the wildest Biker. I also suspect that some road warriors, some day, would prefer someone else did the driving for them. Point of note: I'll be moving to Europe in a few weeks for work and I expect a lot of visits from friends in the summer of '99. I'm anticipating this with a planned two week "tour". My wife and I will take little four day trips this year and work out an itinerary for our visiting friends (between 2 and 20). Trains and dinner will be done together as a group (and might be picked up by me if the new job pays well) and any day time/night time tours are all optional. I hope I can pull it off and i think it'll be a great time. I guess if you fall in with the right tour groups you could come to a similar situation; less intimate, but more informative.

Further to my post above, Marty, not all tours are "big bus tours". I have done a mini bus archaeological tour of Greece and a similar one in Sicily. They are special interest tours with highly specialised guides - the guide in Sicily was a Professor of Archaeology. While I would not do a tour in, say, England, Germany, mainland Italy or France (all of which I have done independently by train), as I said above, I don't drive and in countries with a poor rail network and unreliable bus systems tours are often the only alternative I have.

I have done vactions thorughout the world both ways. On tours, and on our own. There are some trips where it is much easier to take a tour. I enjoyed my tour to Egypt with and Egyptologist who explained every drawing we saw. The trip down the Nile was wonderful with this professional guide educating us on the history of Egypt. Morocco is another country that was much easier to do on an organized tour. Once the local vendors saw that you were with a group, they pretty much left you alone. Time is another issue. If one is trying to the highlights of Israel in one week, you better have a guide. Not only can you meet wonderful people on tours from all over the world, but many tours give you plenty of time to go out on your own to meet the locals.

some funny posts, but as far as i am concerned i am going on a tour to eastern europe. in my youth i hitchhiked thru the americas and parts of europe. but i was told that in eastern europe there are few road signs and not many speak english. hell i am not 20years old any more and i can afford to tour it first and then if i like it go back on our own if i so want to and like to. and yes i dont like supprises.

Why not let all travel as they like?
Am I the only one that has traveled in many different ways: tours, individual trips by own car or rented, or public transport?
Am I the only one that go to Asia individually, stay at a <5USD Guesthouse one night and at a first class hotel the next (when I need a bath, and A/C to cool down)? And who travel 5 days in a tour group of 5 in the middle of the rest, as this was the simplest/(only?) way to visit some country with severe restrictions on visas for individuals?
Why hate?
1: Tell the tour people that it is so easy (in most places) to go individually (but some say: NO this is HOLYDAY I want somebody to take care of everything, to take me to the best local restaurant (or to ensure that I get my usual food) etc.).
2: Ask the backpackers if all those people they meet are local people - or somebody from "at home" - ask them why they all stick to the same Guesthouses that accomodate ONLY forigner?
- and ask them why they cannot carry a clean shirt and a pair of trousers in the bottom of the backpack when they are visiting a poor country where everyone of the local always make sure that THEIR clother are spotless clean - well I am glad to say that it seems that more and more are learning.

Would love to travel independently, but as a senior widow prefer to avoid the hassle of catching trains, planes, buses, trams, etc.Have taken tours and do prefer planning my own itinerary, but if I want to see more of the world while I'm healthy, I have to take the tours. Maybe tolerance or understanding other's situations might apply.

We may ALL let someone else do the driving when we reach age 65. I read in Wall St. Jour. yesterday that car rentals will require you be 65 or under. Avis in Ireland is 65 and UK may be 69. So depending on your circumstances & age may determine how you see Europe.

This is a very interesting forum. My first trip to Europe, 30-plus years ago I was a student. We traveled in all kinds of independent ways, from foot and bike to train and car, small hotels, camping and hostels - but the school also took us on field trips - 80 students plus faculty staff etc. A veritable caravan! We took buses and trains and walked and walked. And it was great. We were young and clueless and we had great guides - and we learned how to travel. After that I traveled only independently until 5 years ago when my parents wanted to treat us to a trip to Great Britain with them. They are vigorous but elderly. They wanted total no-muss, no-fuss so they could concentrate all their energies on the sights and sounds, and they also wanted to travel fairly upscale. Remember, those who are young, that hassling luggage, getting cabs, even finding every restaurant every day, navigating to each site, etc., really does require energy - lots of it. Tours, which take care of so much for you, extend the travel life of older people tremendously! So we gulped and took a Tauck Tour. It was just great! We were, not surprisingly, two of the youngest people on the trip. But it was beautifully done. The tour guide was incredibly well informed about history, art, politics, local economies, food, shopping etc. If you didn't want to participate on any given day or with any particular activity, you didn't have to - and the guide would help you arrange anything special you needed. The accomodations were far more luxurious than we would ever have done independently, because Tauck books wholesale blocks of rooms - and it was just a great treat. The four of us had a fabulous time that we still reminisce over. I wouldn't want to do it every time - we're doing our own thing this summer, but I would definitely take a group tour again if the time and circumstances dictated it. Happy travels one and all!

Hello Tour Fans, Have any of you recently been on a Trafalgar Tour of Spain, Portugal and Morocco. What were your experiences. Did you get to stay at the hotels that they advertise such as the Castellana Intercontinental in Madrid, Occidental in Granada, Costa del Sol in Carmen etc. How was the arrangement and quality of the food? Did you have enough time to see the sights and also have free time at the various spots? What did you think of their transportation and the guide. Your input will be of great help to me in planning my trip. Thank you. Kris

To Kansas: I have never heard such close minded, self-centered, ignorant garbage. When you go to Europe (on a tour or independently), you are in THEIR country!! You should be speaking THEIR language, which I'm sure you never even tried. So until you speak French in France, German in Germany, etc., you have no right to criticize their English, which they probably speak better than you. Also, if it wasn't for the Europeans, you and your ancestors wouldn't be in this great country which was settled by the Europeans. So unless you are a native American Indian, you have no right to criticize the Europeans. I shall not go on any further because I don't want to waste any more time on an ignoramus.

I have to agree with Caryn: My above comments when this was first posted only meant to state that I like independent travel over tour groups. I LOVE to make travel plans as it's one of my favorite hobbies. I COMPLETELY understand those that can't travel independently and opt to go on tour groups. But I can't understand people like Kansas. Why go to a foreign country and not make an effort in their language, try their foods, learn their cultures, see their wonderful places??? If your're not interested in these things, I'd suggest you should stay home.

Dear caryn and Monica: You tell me to stay home. Well, since as you can see from my post above < I fought and died for my country.> And since I am dead I don't travel too much anymore. Tis a shame I'm dead or I could laugh at you not understanding sarcasm.

There is only one reason to dislike tours - and charter tourism in general: They spoil the place. (They also teach local entrepreneurs to lower the quality of food etc - and/or increase the prices.) It's a great way to learn to travel when you're young, and it's wonderful that older people can have the opportunity to see something of the world. (But going on one's own is a revelation, if you've started out with group travel.) Tours just bother the rest of us, because they tend to take up so much space, making it impossible to enjoy a place abroad, once a tour group arrives. Anyway, those of you who go on tours: How about shouting a little less, being less pushy and telling your guides (they're often the worst) to show a little respect for the local people, the site and the other tourists? It must be possible to go on a tour and act cultured. Have a lot of nice travels. Jens PS: Somebody above said something like "in most countries people speak English". I just wonder where that person has travelled. I can get along in English, French and German plus the Scandinavian languages, but there are still a lot of places where this doesn't work, even in Europe. Nevertheless, it's almost always possible to communicate, if you treat people in a way so that they want to communicate with you. I think this is the clue to why so many English-speakers complain about the attitude of the French (for inst.) towards tourists. They haven't made the effort. (By the way: Does anybody have a clue as to why French tour groups seem less obnoxious than most other nations?)

Jens, I am a little mystified at your comment about tour guides - any tour I have ever done has had locals as guides and they are very careful to ensure those on their tour do not upset anyone. There are loud people everywhere in any situation, not just tours; it's just a part of life, no matter how much we dislike it.

We travel a lot and thank God that we are able bodied and speak enough of the languages of the countries we visit most, but that will not always be the case. When we are 80 and still in our right minds (hopefully) we might need to take those tours that we don't need right now. The university alumni sponsored ones seem to be the best. There used to be very interesting tours, including lectures at embassies, offered by the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations. I assure you they weren't for chickens looking for Holiday Inns! I would guess that there are obnoxious tours and very rewardiing ones. What really shocks and dismays me, however, is how nasty and critical some of you can become when the word "tour" is mentioned. This snapping at each other and oneupsmanship isn't getting anyone anywhere. You are just wasting time talking about mostly drivel. (I apologize to the few who have answered thoughtfully)

I've been traveling around the world since 1946 on tours and on my own. It isn't simply a matter of whether you like tours or like to go on your own, it's a matter of what is best for you for that particular trip. For example, I always advise people going to Europe for the first time to take a "Grand Europe" tour. You cover a lot of territory and see a lot of things but, most importantly, it gives you an idea of what you want to do in the future. Same thing applies to other areas like the Mediterranean and the Far East. Don't tie yourself down to a concept, think about what is best for you, at that time, on that trip.

I am 51 years old and will probably someday have to resort to taking a tour, but for now, traveling independently is the only way to go. I have been on a couple of day trip tours on vacation over the years and maybe its the age of those people but they usually drive me crazy. I can't imagine spending a week or two with them.

I just recently returned from a tour and I loved it! Why? Because I met and bonded with 48 people who will remain very close to my heart for the rest of my life! I would never have met these people if I didn't go on the tour.

My new "Trafalgar family" is made up of "siblings" from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, South Africa and England. The youngest is 11 years old and the oldest is 81 (I'm somewhere in between and so is half of my "family"). It's been a month and a half since the tour ended but I still hear from 40 of them everyday - either by phone, e-mail, regular mail or with a visit. That's why I loved my tour!!!

We went on a 27 day Trafalgar tour to Great Britian and Ireland in June and had a great time. We got to see and experience far more than if we had tried to do it on our own. Next summer we are going back for two weeks on our own to spend more time in Edinburgh, London, York, Stratford and Brighton before joining a 14 day tour in France.

I enjoy taking a tour to an area where I have never been before, particularly if I have a limited time frame.In 1995,my husband and I went on Trafalgar's Best of Spain and France.It was a marvelous,thorough tour and no other company combined those two countries (usually Spain and Portugal). This summer we went on a tour to Greece with a cruise of the Greek isles and Turkey. I highly recommend the tour itinerary , and I recommend everyone to visit Greece while you can still do lots and walking and climbing! I do think that seeing a much as we did would be difficult on one's own! If thinking of a tour,ask questions of your travel agent and the tour company...we learned the hard way what it is like if the brochure does not advertise"fully escorted." Brendan Tours has a wonderful itinerary,but they do not give personal attention as their brochure indicates.If you want to know more,e-mail me.

During this period of our life, it wasmost exciting to plan each and every day of our trip. We have had good and bad experiences throughout the years.

However, we are now in our 70s and guesswhat? We find it much to our liking tohave somebody else do the planning (if the itinerary is acceptable) We are able to find tour groups that give us the opportunity of having "Free" days and we plan them as we please.

I homestayed with a family in England a few years ago and to this day we are the very best offriends. We manage to visit back and forth and correspond often.

Next, we find that in some European countries, it is NOT possible to rent a car at our age. How about that?

We have met many wonderful individuals during our "TOUR" travel groups. Actually, we see and learn more than we did on our own. We are also housed intop notch hotels.

So you see, tour groups are not always the worst way to travel. I must admitthough, not every trip was the best.We have traveled too many years and we are able to compare one group against another.

I took the typical 2 week European tour with my parents just after high school many years back. We did the "if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium" something like that meaning we were hitting a different city every other day.

Being with 30 or so fellow tour members reminded me of being back in high school. You're thrown together because you all have one thing in common. Then because you see each other each day for 2 weeks, guess what? You get to know each other and become friends and you even get to each other's bad habits. Like this single guy who would always be late no matter what and delay us.

The bad thing about taking tours is that you lose alot of time just traveling from one place to the next. If you want to see one place in detail, go independently.

Well this has opened a wealth of personal opinion so I am itching to add mine. Personally I would not enjoy a tour. I don't like crowds and don't enjoy being around the "typical" humans. I am one of the few people that truly enjoys being totally alone. My greatest memories of traveling are silent moments where I felt that I had found something totally hidden: an old church where only the care taker was present, an ancient graveyard, a beautiful park or garden. I have enjoyed meeting people. When they are someone that I don't' enjoy their company I have had the choice to get far away from them. I would be afraid that on a tour I would be stuck with a putz that thinks of me as his best friend for the next 10 days.

But on the other hand I know that I am different than most people. You see it every day. People like to go in groups. You can take a few people and form a line to a trash can and people will get in the line just because there is a line. Why do they like groups? I don't know. I don't know because I am not like them.

Lets face it. We all like different things. If we all liked the same things we would all be in the same place at the same time and that wouldn't work out for me, because I don't like crowds.

If you like tours take them. If you don't, don't. Who cares. (I guess a lot of people do care or there wouldn't be so many responses to this thread)

Bjoern na, I do the same thing I stay in dorms for a couple of days then goo too a decent hotel too chill out walk around naked what ever.. anyways I TOLD YOU ALL there is a huge fiud between the backpackers and tourist..but those tourist with the 500 pound camaras, fanny packs. and floral shirts. do anoy me for some reason.. may'be I secretly wish I were like them. NA.

I take tours because I love going to somewhat remote, less commonly visited parts of frequently visited countries, BUT I don't want to drive, and it is not so convenient getting to the smaller places by public transportation. So, I look for small group walking/hiking tours and other small group special interest tours that explore the countryside, smaller towns, and sites that are not accessible by public transportation. I usually combine a one-week walking tour with several days of independent travel.

I'm with Carol. There are tours, and then there are...tours. I've done hiking trips with so-called "adventure travel" companies that specialize in active vacations for small groups. These are more expensive than the bus tours, and I've met wonderful people. They're ideal for me as a divorced woman - most of my friends can't travel when I can or are married, and, while I usually add a few independent days onto my group trips, I don't really enjoy vacationing alone. These group trips are a godsend for me.

If by "snaeking into" a tour group, you mean simply listening to the guide explain the items in an arceological site or cathedral or other place of interest, thqt is hardly sneaking. If a group is blocking the path, and the guide is speaking above a whisper, their presence can interfere with the independent travelers' enjoyment of the place. It is absolutely reasonable and ethical for the independent traveler to stop and listen to the guide and even follow the group along if the explanation sem intereting and worthwhile.

The tour guide might be private domain, but a museum or other attraction, especially one that makes everyone pay admission, is public domain. Tours and tour guides can't claim ownership of the public domain.

But I don't blame Teresa for feeling a little ticked off. This thread, while now very old, is typical of the 'leading question' which purports to ask for information but is actually an opinion in disguise. "Why pay someone for something you can do yourself" is not a request for others to assist the questioner to understand, but rather a demand that those others accept, unconditionally, Richard's own position on this subject. The phrases 'locked in', 'half the fun' 'guidebooks aplenty' indicates that Richard was already pretty 'locked in' himself - to his views and position on the subject. Sad proof that travel doesn't necessarily foster tolerance or breadth of mind.

I have taken tours, and I have just bummed around Paris for a week with friends. Both kinds of trips have their pros and cons.

When I take a tour, providing the itinerary is good, I like having all the arrangements made for me. At home I am the one making all the arrangements, making sure everyone is going where they need to be and carrying what they need to have with them.

I don't take a tour until I can afford to go with a really good one, and then it is payback time for me. The luxury of having everything presented to me ready to go for my enjoyment is worth it. Not all tours are herding onto buses and mediocre meals, you know. And getting to walk past a line of 200+ people travelling independently waiting in the hot sun to get into the Schoennbrunn (sp?) Palace outside Vienna so I can walk right in with my tour group is always worth it.

one of the few worthwhile things about a tour is that you can skip lines.. plus you sometimes get a discount on entrence fees.... I admit I have taken ciry tours just for this perpose...then again it can go against you especialy in poor countries.. you can easaly hire a local for $5 a day and get just about the same service a hotel tour would give...

Has anyone had any experience with GoAhead Vacations? They are supposed to be an "educational" tour company. Found a great walking tour of Provence. I know we could do it on our own, but I prefer someone else to plan the little details.